Bristol Rovers: Fruit Market site targeted for new stadium

Bristol Rovers have play at the Memorial Stadium since 1996

Bristol Rovers are putting together a planning application to build a new stadium on the Bristol Fruit Market site, club president Wael Al-Qadi said.

After Rovers' plans for a 21,000-seater venue at the University of the West of England fell through in 2017, they "explored several" unnamed venues.

The League One club have played at their Memorial Stadium home since 1996.

"We have identified one site, along with others, we are very interested in," Al-Qadi told BBC Radio Bristol.

Talks over what to do with Bristol Rovers' home ground have been a long-running saga.

Plans ditched

The club first mooted plans to expand the Memorial Ground in 2005.

Those were later ditched in favour of a 21,000-seater stadium on the outskirts of the city.

"One of the sites is the fruit market - we are very interested in that site," Mr Al-Qadi.

Bristol Fruit Market is about four miles south of the Memorial Stadium, close to the city's main Temple Meads railway station.

"We have already started the work that goes in to planning permission," Mr Al-Qadi told sports presenter Geoff Twentyman.

"As you know it's a very long process and there's a lot of technical work that has to be done to get approval."

The site is currently owned by several parties and shareholders.

Rovers begin their 2019-20 season away at Blackpool on Saturday, after a 15th-place finish last term.